Grain-car-door latch



Jan. 18,1927.

Y c. J. FISCHER GRAIN CAR DOOR LATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 14. 1922 INVENTOR ATTO RN EY Jan. 18,1927. 1,615,120

- C. J. FlSCH-ER GRAIN CAR DOOR LATCH Filed Apri-1 14. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES CHARLES J. FISCHER, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN-CAR-DOOR LATCH.

Application filed April 14, 1922.

This invention relates to doors for railway freight cars, and an object of the invention is to provide a door structure which may be utilized in connection with grain cars now in use without requiring extensive alterations thereto, said door being designed to prevent the loss of grain from within the car and also to faciltate the loading or unloading of grain into or from the car.

Another object of this invention is to provide a grain car door which is comparatively simple in construction and may be operated with comparative ease.

Other objects of the invention will appear in the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the outer side of the improved grain car door.

Fi 2 is a side elevation of the inner side of the improved grain car door.

Fig. 3 is a detail section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail cross secton on the line 4 4 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the door structure.

Fig. G is a perspective View of one of the guides of the door structure. t

Fig. 7 is a detail section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a detail section on the line 8 8 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved grain car door comprises an upper section 1 and a lower section 2, which sections are hingedly connected at their meeting edges by suitable hinges 3. The lower section 2 normally rests upon the floor of freight car 3 and the upper section 1 is spaced downwardly from the upper edge of the door, leaving a space through which grain may be passed into the car equipped with the improved grain door, and hinges 3 are provided so as to permit the meeting edges of the sections 1 and 2 to swing inwardly when the door is open.

lVhen it is desired to remove grain from a box car equipped with the improved grain doors, the doors are 'forced upwardly to close the space at the top and provide a corresponding space at the bottom of the doors out of which the grain may run, and a suitable locking structure is provided for locking the doors in either grain receiving or discharging positionso Serial No. 552,705.

The latch structure embodied in the invention includes opposite latch bolts 4 having portions confined in the horizontal slots 4 formed in the upper door sect on 1 conined in channel 18 of the upper door section reinforcing band 18. r1`his reinforcing band is provided with spaced lateral bearing plates 5 slidably receiving the latch bolts 4 and extending in the slots 4 adjacent their outer ends providng opposite recesses 1l and 2. These latch bolts are normally held in outward position by means of spring members 7 with the outer ends 8 inserted in the aligned openings 5 formedin walls 6 of the guides 6 when the door sections are positioned with the bottom door section resting upon the floor of the car, or inserted in openings 7 formed in walls 6 in spaced relation with the openings 5, when the sections are held in elevated position above the Hoor. These spring members 7 have end portions attached in a suitable manner to the latch bolts and have opposite end portions in abutment with the inner bearing plates 5. The inner end portions of the latch bolts confined in the recesses 2 have angled ends 8 projecting outwardly through elongated slots 9 formed in the reinforcing band and the door section 2 adjacent the top edge thereof. Cords or cables 10 are connected to the angled ends 8 and to an operating rod 11, which is slidably supported by suitable guides l2, carried by the upper section 1. The cords 1() pass over guiding sheaves 13, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 7 of the drawings, so that when the rod 1l is moved longitudi-nally both of the bolts will be simultaneously moved inwardly out of locking position to permit the door sections to be moved.

The lower section 2 has transversely extending guiding pins 14 carried thereby which engage in the channel 15 of the guides 6, for guiding the movement of the lower section 2 and for preventing the lower end of the door from being swung out of said guide members. Guiding flanges 16 are formed upon the lower ends of the guides G for guiding the movement -of the lower door section 2, the said guiding flanges cooperating with the pins 14. The upper and lower edges respectively of the sections 1 and 2 are bound or reinforced by channel shaped bands 18, and the channel shaped bands 18 carried by the lower section 2 are provided with a cut out portion 19 which is adapted to receive a pinch bar for facilitating the initial upward openingl movement of the door structure and a suitable handle 20 is carried by the lower section to permit manual openingr or closing,` of the doors. If it is so desired hooks of any suitable type as shown at 22 may be carried by the upper section l adjacent its lower edge for engagement with staples or eyes 28 carried by the car body upon which the improved grain door is mounted for locking the door sections against accidental opening' movement in case the rod l1 should'be accidentally operated.

The guides 6 are attached to the door frame on which the improved door is mounted in any suitable manner.

1n opening' the improved doors lo permit the removal of grain from a car equipped with the devices, the rod ll is moved downwardly, for moving the locking bolts '-t out of the lower openings 5 in the guides 6, which will permit the door sections 1 and 2 to be forced upwardly in the guides, providing a space below the lower section through which the grain is adapted to pass. After the door sections have been forced upwardly they may have their meeting edges swung inwardly upon their hinged connection manually and through the medium of the handle 2O opening the door further so as to permit entrance into the grain car if desired. Duringthe upward movement of the door sections the latch bolts l will spring into the upper openings 'i' in the channel irons locking the door sections in their upward positions against downward movement under `gravity action. The upper' ends of the guide members 6 are closed as shown in Fig. G to limit the upward movement of the door sections and cause proper locking` action of the bolts Il.

It is, of course, to be understood that the invention may be constructed in other manners and the parts associated in different relations and, therefore, I do not desire to be limited .in any manner except as sol. forth in the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is:

l. A latch structure including;` a channel shaped member adapted to reinforce an edge portion of a door with which the latch structure is associated when in operative position andv defining with an edge portion of the door a housing and having an elongated slot formed therein, bearing plates foi-ined in thc channel shaped member and extendingV into the housing', a latch bolt coniined in the housing and slidably carried by the bear-in;f plates and having an end portion extending;` laterally from one of the longitudinal sides of the reinforcingr member and through the slot, and a spring` rnen'iber confined in the housing, said spring` member being confined between the bearing plates and having an end portion secured to the latch bolt and an opposite end portion in bearing,- relation with one of the bearingplates, substantially as described.

2. A. latch structure, in combination with a door having a cut out por'ion alena' one of the edges thereof and a channel shaped member reinforcing* the edge portion of the door havinga the cut out portion and providing together with the walls of the cut out portion a housing', bearing;4 members formed on the channel shaped member and extending' into the housing, a. longitudinally movable latch boit slidably carried by the bearing' menibers, a spring member conlined in the housing' and embracing he latch boli. said spring,r member having an end portion secured to the latch bolt and an opposite end portion in bearing relation with one oi the bearing;` members, and means exterior of th housingA for moving the latch bolt against action of the spring member, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

CHARLES J. FISCHER. 

